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A Blog About Books

Joining a Book Club!

My first book arrived from the Parnassus Young Adult First Editions Club. And the first selection is….Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys. I am willingly paying more (shipping costs and cover price) for books I could purchase much less expensively or download onto my Nook. It was a deliberate decision. This is why I joined:

1. I want to support Parnassus Books in Nashville. When Nashville’s two bookstores closed a couple of years ago, the town was bookstore-less until Ann Patchett and Karen Hayes, a friend from the publishing world, stepped in. They opened Parnassus which, although I’ve never visited, I’m a long distance cheerleader and a regular visit to the store’s website. If they are willing to put the time and money into a brick and mortar store that connects people with good books, that’s a cause I want to support!

2. It’s like getting a present when you least expect it. It seems that everything in my mail box is either a bill or a catalog. When I was a child, my parents were members of a book club, and although I didn’t pay much attention to what was in the boxes, I thought it was really cool that a “mystery book” showed up on the doorstep.

3. Everything is so predictable. I knew what was going to happen on Downton Abbey weeks before the show aired, I read book reviews by the hundreds so that when I’m in a store (or online) I know something about almost every book on the shelf, and my phone gives me instant answers to any question that crosses my mind. It will be fun to get a book that a fellow book lover has selected.

4. The books are signed first editions so I can use them for gifts. Out of the Easy arrived in a cute little cloth bag – perfect for gift giving. Actually, I really want to read this book. I’m keeping it!